The simplest rationale for the existence of a publicly funded university is that it provides some form of public good. If all the outputs of a university were privately owned, and privately appropriable, there would be no need for public funding. Either firms would fund the research and training which could be internalized by themselves, or students could fund the teaching through higher future earnings. Consequently, one way to pose the issue of the future role of universities is to ask what public goods they can provide that cannot be provided in other ways.....